


Butterfly Effect

by Black_Salt



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Multi, Original Character(s), Rating May Change, Romance, Slow Burn, Some Humor, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-10-10 01:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17416058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_Salt/pseuds/Black_Salt
Summary: In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.One day, Naruto decided to get out of the rain.Will try to update regularly





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I think I annoyed my friend with how much I bitched at her about the plot holes in this universe. It is so annoying? I started this at probably 3 in the morning and worked on it for days before getting ready to post it and as I'm about to start tagging it my data runs out, my wifi doesn't load Ao3, and I have to wait. You wouldn't believe how hard I freaked out in the middle of the line for the cashier at the supermarket when I realized my data was back. Anyways! I hope you enjoy!

Rain steadily poured down, drenching everything in sight. It fell from dark clouds that stretched over the horizon, blocking the sunset. Water steadily streamed from rooftop gutters to the streets below, filling the sidewalks with puddles and streams. Many people were inside and turning in for the night, the only ones outside were those with no home, or a job that keeps them out into the evening. 

Naruto watched the rain pour down from a somewhat dry spot in one of Konoha's many alleyways. His clothes were only slightly damp, and he was squeezed into a box next to a few big trash cans. With no signs from that rain that it would let up, he started to look for a warmer, drier place to stay the night. 

“So cold,” he whispered to himself. Even if he was quite dry, the air around him was icy cold and it seemed to cut through his thin shirt right down to his bones. Naruto shook slightly from the chill. A thick droplet of water fell onto his neck, rolling down his back and making him shiver. 

Glancing up, he saw the box he was in getting too wet to shelter him for much longer. Renewing his searches for a new place to sleep, he soon spotted a merchant caravan across the street. The owner was likely staying in the inn it was parked outside. A deep ache of longing started to bloom in the boy's chest but he quickly shoved in down, instead focusing on getting to the caravan. It had a few boxes in it but not too many that he couldn't move a few aside and sleep there for the night. 

Naruto checked his small bag that he carried with him everywhere to make sure he wasn't missing anything. It contained everything he had after getting kicked out of the orphanage; one change of clothes, some money he had stashed and hidden, a few cool rocks, and dying flowers. He hadn't figured out how to keep the flowers alive yet but he was sure he would find a way. He had always been interested in plants. While he wasn't sure why he had gotten thrown out, he knew that he wasn't allowed back. The mean lady that ran it had shoved him outside and screamed at him to stay away. Her harsh words echoed in his head,

“Stay away demon!”

He shook his head and focused on his task at hand. With a quick look to make sure nobody was around to see him, the small kid ran from his spot in the alley to the caravan across the street. His feet splashed in the street puddles, cold water soaking his shoes and feet, but he ignored it in favor of getting into a warm place to sleep. Once he was in the caravan he moved a few boxes in the middle around just enough so he could lie down and rest. The caravan was just wide enough he could stretch out with troubles. A wooden floor was a small price to pay for safety in his mind, it was better than being in the rain. He slipped off his soaked shoes and tried to get comfortable between the boxes. 

After a few moments of shivering and snuggling into himself to get warm, he fell asleep.

-

When morning came the rain had stopped, and the sun was barely above the horizon with its rays warming up the air. The merchant walked out of the inn, whistling an upbeat tune and heading over to his caravan. He didn't bother to check to see if everything was still there, figuring that nobody would be dumb enough to steal something in a ninja village. Instead he took a moment to enjoy the lush green trees around him, and the feeling of the crisp morning air filling up his lungs after a good night's sleep. With a happy sigh he got in the driver seat of the caravan and set off for his next stop; the Land of Tea. 

It was quite a bit later when the merchant was making good progress and was about a hour past the border into the Land of Tea when he decided to stop for lunch. He left the caravan parked outside the town, and went in to get food.

Naruto was just barely beginning to wake up, the light coming into the caravan and the sounds from the town intruded his dreams and lifted him from sleep. With a tired groan he stretched, muscles trembling from the strain. Making his way around the boxes, he stumbled out of the caravan and onto the ground. And freaked out.

Quickly running into the town, he frantically ran around looking for any sign that he was still in Konoha. Fear and panic gripped his mind as he weaved in between people looking for anyone he knew when he was stopped by a stranger. He was a tall man with black hair that glinted red when the sun hit it.

“Hey kid, you alright?” 

“Where am I?” The stranger frowned, looking down at the small kid. Surely this kid was just lost from his family.

“Are you lost from your parents? How old are you, 5?” He knelt down to be closer Naruto's height, his brow furrowing in concern.

“No, I'm 6. Where am I?” He repeated. His big blue eyes started to fill with tears, panic rising in his chest when he didn't recognize any buildings around him. His breath started to get quick and shallow when he didn't see the Hokage Monument where it should've been. Where was he? He was jolted out of his panic when the stranger put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Hey kid, it's going to be alright. Take a deep breath and calm down, can you tell me where your parents are?” The question struck a chord deep in Naruto's chest, the panic rapidly falling away to give in to a crushing wave of loneliness. An ache started to build in his throat and the tears began to fall.

“I don't have parents,” he said, and looked away from the stranger in an attempt to hide his tears. 

“That's ok, do you have anyone else to take care of you?” Naruto shook his head. 

“Nobody wants me around,” he mumbled, and the tears started to fall faster, blurring his vision, his nose starting to run. He sniffled, bringing a hand up to wipe at his eyes. His shoulders started to shake slightly with sobs building up in his chest.

“Hey, look at me, you'll be alright. Can you tell me your name? My name is Daiki. Maybe start with how you got here?” Daiki kept his tone gentle, but inside felt pity and sadness. This was a small boy that was all alone and he was determined to help. 

“My name is Naruto, I was looking for a place to sleep in the rain,” he responded. Daiki felt empathy well up inside him.

“Well Naruto-kun, where are you from? Surely there's someone looking for you,” Daiki couldn't believe nobody would want such a cute, innocent kid around.

Naruto hesitated, the Sandaime coming to mind for a brief second, but he hadn't come to see him for a while, so he figured he wouldn't care. Besides that? Nobody. He had no friends in the orphanage, and he didn't know any adults that actually liked him. 

“Naruto-kun?” Daiki's voice shook him from his thoughts. It hurt too much to answer, so Naruto just shook his head. Daiki nodded slowly.

“Well Naruto-kun, I was about to go get lunch if you'd like to join me,” he offered. Naruto's head snapped up in surprise.

“A-are you sure? I do have some money-” Naruto's voice cut off, his eyes widening in horror as he remembered that he had left his bag in the caravan. Without a word he took off, sprinting back to the caravan to grab it before it was too late.

“Naruto-kun?” Daiki called after him. He stood up, brushed off his pants and started to run after him. He couldn't just leave an abandoned kid alone! 

Naruto dashed through the street, desperate to get his bag back. It had his money! His clothes! His flowers! Questions started to race through his mind. What if the owner drove off? What if someone had stolen it? What if everything had burned down while he was gone? He was starting to get overwhelmed with all the panic his mind was going through, his vision going hazy and his breathing cutting out.

Suddenly he was flying through the air, and skidded on the ground when he landed. He had tripped on a rock. He looked around and spotted the caravan, and stumbled over with tears in his eyes. He staggered into the caravan, and upon seeing his bag right where he left it, burst into tears. 

Daiki slowed down as he got closer, hearing Naruto's sobs and seeing him clutching a bag like a teddy bear. He signed in relief, shaking his head. Climbing up next to Naruto, he took the boy in his arms. Naruto let go of the bag and held onto Daiki tight, crying into his shirt. Rubbing soothing circles on his back, Daiki murmured gentle words in an attempt to soothe him. Naruto slowly calmed down until it was just a few tears slipping out.

“This must've been a long day for you, huh kid.” Daiki slowly breathed in a deep breath and sighed in relief. “Do you still want to go to lunch? I could make something for you, I'm a pretty good cook if I say so myself,” he offered. Naruto slowly nodded. 

“Thank you, Daiki-san,” he whispered. 

-

It was a while after lunch, yet they were sitting in Daiki's apartment while he made food for them. Naruto was sitting on a chair swinging his legs, observing his surroundings. There were a lot of plants everywhere, and the walls were painted plain beige and had small pieces of art hung up sporadically alongside some pictures. A lot of the pictures were of people, but there were a few with Daiki and a girl with long, red hair. She was the only person besides Daiki that was in more than 1 photo.

He was startled out of his observations when Daiki set a plate down in front of him. 

“I wasn't sure what you liked so I just made you a sandwich. By now it could be considered dinner, but who cares.” He walked to the other side of the table and put down a plate with his own sandwich on it. “Would you like anything to drink? I have tea, water, milk, coffee, you probably shouldn't drink coffee though since it might stunt your growth.”

“Water please, Daiki-san,” he asked. Daiki nodded and walked back to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

“Just call me Daiki, no need for formalities here. I don't really care of any of that,” he said. He set down the glass, and went back to his seat to eat his sandwich. 

As Naruto tore into his sandwich, Daiki quietly picked at his and observed. He noted that his clothes were dirty and old, and that Naruto himself was in desperate need of soap. With a sigh, he sat back in his chair about thought about him and his sister, and what she would do in this situation. 

“Are you ok? You sound sad,” Daiki looked up to see Naruto's big blue eyes looking at him, and gave a small smile.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about my sister. We haven't talked in a while,” he said, sadness tinging his voice. Naruto frowned, he didn't like seeing Daiki sad after everything he'd done for him. 

“Is she the one in the pictures with you? With the red hair?” He asked. Daiki nodded.

“Yeah, her name is Kirika. She's really caring and nice but she has a short temper. If you do anything to piss her off you better start running. But I know she always has my back,” he said, his eyes were distant as he looked back at memories with her.

“It sounds like you miss her a lot. Why don't you talk to her?” Naruto asked. He shook his head.

“It's not that easy, she's a ninja so she's off on missions a lot. She doesn't work for a village though, so she does whatever she wants,” he explained. Naruto's eyes grew wide with adoration, and sparkled in delight.

“She's a ninja? That's so cool! I want to be a ninja one day! Do you think I could meet her?” Words just kept spilling out of his mouth, and Daiki felt his heart grow warm. Even with all this kid has gone through he was still positive.

“Well the next time she's in town I'll try to introduce you to her, but since I don't really have a way to talk to her you'll have to wait,” he said. Naruto deflated slightly, but got right back up with determination. Daiki frowned and tilted his head in consideration.

“Do you have a place to stay? You never said where you're from,” Daiki asked. Naruto's excitement drained from his eyes and he slumped back in his chair, eyes darting to the side to avoid eye-contact. 

“I don't have anywhere, I still don't know where I am. I'm from Konoha,” he said. Daiki felt his breath leave him in shock. Konoha was so far away! How did this kid get all the away into another country? Then he remembered the caravan, and realized that Naruto must've climbed in and the owner accidentally took him all the way from Konoha to here.

“You're in Tea Country, and I can't believe I'm saying this,” he muttered, “but I have a spare room that you could stay in since you have nowhere else to go,” Naruto's head lifted, his big blue eyes shiny and hopeful.

“Really?” He asked, voice fragile with emotion. 

Daiki hesitated before nodding, “yeah, I know how hard it is to live on the street. You can stay here until you have someone.” 

Naruto's chair slammed back as he leapt out of it and ran to hug Daiki. 

“Thank you,” he said, and held on like there was no tomorrow. Daiki just chuckled and patted his head, wrapping an arm around the small boy.

“It's no problem, just make sure you take a shower before bed,” he said. Sun filled the room from the windows, bathing the room with warm golden light as it set behind the hills, casting the world into a new day.

-

Naruto was snuggled into the nice, warm bed, happy to be warm and clean again. He thought back on Daiki, and how kind he was. Usually he didn't like people since he could feel their hate towards him, but Daiki was like a sunflower in a patch of weeds. His clear green eyes only showed sympathy towards him and for that he was grateful. 

Even though he was anxious about leaving Konoha, he was relieved to have met someone so kind. And his sister was a ninja, making it even better! He would've been more excited, but he could barely get his emotions up with sleep dragging at him. Within moments he was deep asleep.

Daiki opened the door a fraction, looking to see if Naruto was alright. Smiling upon seeing him sleeping, he gently closed the door to get ready for bed himself. He had the feeling this kid would bring a lot of change in this world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a bit late since I just moved, but I was able to finish! All is well, Naruto has found a friend, and maybe something else. Onto the next chapter!

The sun filtered into the room through the curtains, weakly filling the room with light. Naruto slowly woke up, mind coming back to awareness with a thick haziness. He stretched under the thick covers, a tired yawn escaping him. Sleep attempted to drag him back down, but the smell of food cooking that wafted into his room was too tempting. 

A hand reached up to push the thick, soft covers aside, as he slowly sat up in bed. His arms reached up in a stretch, muscles held in a satisfying reach before relaxing back down to his sides. His feet hit the cool wooden floor, and he stumbled out of bed towards the kitchen. His mind was still a bit clouded over with the slight remains of sleep, but it quickly dissipated when he walked into the kitchen where he saw Daiki cooking.

With a thump he fell into a chair, a hand reaching up to rub at his face.

“Morning Daiki,” he mumbled. Daiki turned around to greet Naruto, but paused upon seeing the boys ruffled bed head, the soft blonde tresses sticking out in every direction. Big, innocent blue eyes looking towards him with a shine of happiness in them. Holding back coos of delight, he responded.

“Good morning Naruto! How did you sleep last night?” Naruto nodded sleepily.

“It was really nice, that bed was-” he broke off to yawn, his jaw aching from the stretch, “really comfortable. Thank you for letting me stay here,” Daiki just smiled, and started getting out plates to put breakfast on. 

“It was no problem at all, I feel better that you were inside safe last night rather than in a new country where you don't know anyone.” He started to take food out of the pan and place it on the plate. He hesitated before adding, “Besides, I know how hard it is to be living on the streets,” Naruto's eyes widened with surprise. 

“You lived on the streets?” He asked, his voice hushed in fear of doing anything to upset his new friend. Daiki nodded, unperturbed, and set his plate down in front of him before sitting down with his own plate of food.

“Yes I did, but first you better eat your breakfast,” he said. Naruto just nodded, picked up a piece of bacon from the plate, and began to eat. Upon his first bite, his eyes widened, and he began to devour the food in front of him. Daiki looked up in surprise.

“Don't choke from eating your food so fast,” his voice held a tone of stern warning. Naruto flinched a bit before slowly putting his food down. His eyes averted to the side.

“Sorry Daiki,” his heart was pounding in anxiety, mind racing through the ways Daiki must surely hate him, and how he was going to be kicked out. His breathing started to pick up, and his vision got blurry at the edges. A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, snapping his mind out of the panic it had thrown itself into. Naruto looked up into the concerned eyes of Daiki, green like a field of grass in a storm. 

“It's ok Naruto,” he said. His tone was gentle, warm, comforting, “I didn't mean anything by my tone, I just wanted to make sure you didn't hurt yourself. I was afraid you would hurt yourself. You didn't do anything wrong,” he spoke slowly, and rubbed a soothing hand on Naruto's back. 

Naruto sucked in a deep breath and nodded. Daiki smiled and nodded towards his food, “now, why don't you finish off your food before it goes cold, yeah?” Naruto just gave a small nod and went back to eating his breakfast. Daiki patted his back before going back to his seat.

The room was quiet besides the two people eating, before a quiet whisper broke through, “thanks Daiki.” Daiki just looked up, offered a reassuring smile, and went back to finishing his breakfast. 

-

“Why are we coming here again?” Voices filled the air around them creating the sound of people bartering and haggling prices for products. Daiki was looking around for certain stalls, and mentally mapping out how he would go around and get everything he needed. Naruto tugged at the hand he was gripping firmly. Daiki looked down, confused.

“Why are we coming here?” Naruto repeated. He hadn't really been paying attention when Daiki had explained it to him after breakfast.

“We need to get you a few things, like clothes and proper shoes. And my kettle broke yesterday morning and the merchant that usually sells them only comes on this day of the week.” Daiki explained. Naruto tilted his head in confusion, his brows scrunching up.

“You're gonna get me new shoes and clothes? What's wrong with the ones I've got?” He looked down at his worn, dirty sandals. They didn't look so bad to him.

“Well your feet would be better protected with proper shoes instead of sandals, and while I'm not sure if your clothes are incredibly old you only have what, 2 outfits?” Daiki looked down at Naruto with a kind smile. “Besides, it'll be fun! My sister always hated it, so I usually went out and shopped for the both of us. It's probably why I enjoy it so much.” He had a distant look in his eyes as he recalled his younger years with his sister. 

Naruto looked around at all the people rushing about, and pressed himself into Daiki's side in an attempt to ease his discomfort from the pandemonium of the market. Daiki looked down to see him huddled into his side, guilt stabbing his heart when he saw how uncomfortable he was. 

“Let's go over to this shop here, it's a lot quieter.” Daiki led Naruto through the edge of the crowd into a little shop with a red door.

Inside the shop, the smell of incense gently floated through the air, leaving a thin but visible haze. Adorning the walls were lots of little bits and bobs, sculptures, and odd trinkets. Walking through the shop, his feet landed in plush, soft carpet, the fibers tickling his toes through his sandals.

Naruto's eyes widened in amazement as he looked at the sheer amount of things everywhere. There were tons of plants hanging front the ceiling, with dark green vines crawling down the walls. His wonder was interrupted by a man at a desk across the room.

“Why hello Daiki! What brings you around my neck of the woods eh? Need more plants for your potions and crafts? Oh, and who is this little sun spot you've brought with you?” Daiki walked forward to hug the man, but was stopped by Naruto anxiously clutching his arm. He smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“This is Naruto, I'm taking care of him for a bit. The stalls outside were a bit too loud for him so we've come in here to start our shopping,” he explained. The man placed a forearm on his desk and leaned forward, his other hand reaching up to push his slightly shaggy brown hair out of his eyes. 

“No need to be afraid kid, my name's Kaito. I've known Daiki for a while, he and his sis would hitch a ride with my dad every now and then to help with his merchant business.” He pushed off the desk, and grinned at Daiki. “You shopping again huh? You were only out here yesterday, I was wondering why you didn't come in when I saw you walking about. With how much you like shopping, you could be a teenage girl!” His booming laugh filled the shop. Daiki grinned good naturedly, “don't let Kirika hear you say that! I might just tell her you're hurting my feelings.” That stopped Kaito's laugh, a shiver of terror ran down his spine at the mention of Daiki's sister. 

He leaned down to whisper to Naruto loud enough Kaito could hear. “Kaito tried hitting on Kirika once, pushed a bit too far, and ended up with every bone in his fingers broken. He's been terrified of making her angry again ever since.” Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, “wow, she must be really strong!” 

“It doesn't take that much to break a finger bone,” he muttered. He shook his head and looked at Daiki, “so, you gonna buy something or is this just a social call?” 

“Just get me the usual order, I'm running low on a few of them. I also have a feeling I'll need some of the special order plants soon, so put those in too.” Daiki said. Kaito folded his arms and arched an eyebrow.

“You're gonna need the special order plants soon? Ha, who's that for?” 

“Kirika,” 

“Hmm, that explains it. She usually visits around this time of year doesn't she?”

“Hopefully she'll visit soon,” 

Naruto tuned out the conversation as he looked around the store. There were so many strange things he'd never seen before. Letting go of Daiki's hand to look around, he let his curiosity guide him to the different things around the store. He was currently distracted by big wooden masks, too big to be anything but decorative, painted with colors that were once bright, but had become muted over time. He was running his fingers over the rough wood when he was startled when a hand landed on his shoulder. 

“Ok Naruto, I've got everything I need from here, let's get going to the next store.” He grabbed his hand and starting walking to the door. 

“Please come again!” Kaito shouted as they walked out the door.

-

It was beginning to get into the late afternoon, Daiki and Naruto had their lunch an hour or so ago, and they had completed all their shopping. They were walking down the street, considerably less busy than it was in the morning, when a man stopped Daiki in the road to talk to him. 

Naruto wasn't paying attention, and was instead looking around the marketplace. He was looking over at a group of kids playing, an ache of longing and curiosity in his chest, when he noticed a weird cat sitting by the entrance of the alley that the kids were playing by. It had weirdly pointed ears, and oddly spotted fur. Instantly the ache was overcome by the curiosity, and, without thinking, he let go of Daiki's hand and went to go look it. Of course he had no idea what he would do when he got to the cat, but he walked over anyways. 

He was within a few feet of the cat, when it stopped passively staring at the place he had been. It blinked, and was now staring at him. He paused in his steps, but continued forward. Just when he was close enough to touch it, the cat bounded away down the alley, and stopped at the other end. It looked back at Naruto, almost seeming to smirk before lazily wandering around the corner.

Naruto giggled, and started to run after it. He skidded around the corner to see it head down the back street before turning and heading towards the trees outside of town. Naruto, however, didn't know this and was too lost in trying to catch the cute cat. 

It was then that Daiki realized Naruto was no longer by his side, and turned just in time to see a bright blonde head of hair run down the alley. His blood turned to ice in his veins, and felt his stomach turn into a knot.

“Shit!” He started to run after him, but was slowed down by the people blocking his way in the street. 

Naruto was having a grand time chasing the cat, and by then had turned down the next alley that led to the forest. The cat took a sharp left, and when Naruto went to follow he collided with someone. His eyes shut and his arms flailed to catch his fall.

A pair of hands caught him before he could fall too far, and steadied him gently. He looked up to see a concerned pair of amethyst eyes. 

“Are you alright?” She asked, a note of amusement tinged her voice. Naruto just nodded, staring at the woman who saved him. She had high, full cheekbones and a straight nose that was dusted lightly with freckles. Her full lips were quirked up in a faint smile, but what got his attention the most was the intense blood red hair that she had tied up in a high ponytail that fell down in curls, with loose bangs that were brushed to the side. The cat that Naruto had followed sat snug against her legs, blinking at him curiously.

It seemed that the woman wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Daiki coming around the side of the alley. 

“Naruto-” his voice cut off when he saw who was behind him. He relaxed his stance and folded his arms, “well, look who it is. Can't you ever be like a regular citizen and send a letter or something saying you're going to be showing up?” 

The woman smirked, “but where's the fun in that? Besides, I'm not a normal citizen anyways so there's no need to act like one.” The air between them rose with anticipation, neither one breaking eye contact. Naruto shuffled out of the way, nervously looking between the two.

Finally the tension broke when Daiki grinned and moved walked forward to embrace the woman. She hugged back just as eagerly. 

“It's been too long!” She said.

“Well that's your own fault isn't it?” He replied.

“It's not like I can help it, that's just how my job is,”

“Well you don't see my job keeping me from seeing you for months at a time,”

“Well I don't see your job paying as much as mine, sucks to suck Daiki,”

Naruto took another step back, accidentally bringing both adults attention back to him.

“Oh right, this is Naruto, I'm taking care of him,” he said. Naruto looked at the woman, and she gave a small wave.

“Naruto, this is my sister Kirika.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I know I did a pretty obvious job of foreshadowing Kirika, but she was the main character I designed anyways. Naruto is a cutie pie that deserves better and I'm going to take advantage of that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really have an excuse as to why this is so late, but I will give some free advice.  
> 1\. Don't move countries into new school systems without being properly prepared  
> 2\. Make sure the curriculums line up
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Naruto sat on the chair, swinging his legs. He stayed quiet as he looked between the two siblings. They were catching up on months worth of conversation, teasing each other as siblings do. 

Glancing towards the window, he saw the sun was close to setting, it's final rays coming in through the window, taking the weak warmth with it. He wondered if he would be able to stay, Daiki only had one spare room and Kirika was his sister after all. Naruto was just some kid he'd picked up off the street. Anxiety started to grow in his head, but he tried his best to ignore and suppress it. His internal dilemma was interrupted when the conversation caught his curiosity.

“Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm permanently banned from ever going into water country,” Kirika said. Naruto perked up, he was more interested in the conversation after hearing that.

“Why would you be banned?” He asked. He didn't really know what permanent meant, but he knew what banned meant from the store owners telling it to him back in Konoha. Kirika looked at him and grinned. She reached for her travel bag, pulled out a scroll, and activated it. Instantly, a small mountain of scrolls appeared, a few falling off the side of the table. Daiki looked a bit apprehensive upon seeing how many scrolls there were. He had a hunch on just how she got them.

“Ta da! I stole them from the archives!” Kirika announced with a flourish of her arms. Naruto leaned up in his seat to get a better look, excitement sparking in his chest. Daiki folded his arms and frowned. 

“And what type of scrolls are they? Surely they must be important if you're permanently banned from an entire country,” he asked. Kirika hesitated before answering, moving to put the scrolls back into the one they were stored in.

“Well, they're scrolls from the places they've pillaged, so whatever those places had scrolls on I guess,” Kirika shrugged, seemingly nonchalant about the fact she stole from a world superpower. Naruto frowned, that wasn't really an answer, but he figured he shouldn't ask. 

A thump distracted him, and he looked over to see the cat from earlier sitting on the chair next Kirikas. She looked over with a smile, picked up the cat and set him in her lap. It started to purr gently when she scratched it's jaw. 

“Your cat is really cute,” Naruto said. Kirika glanced up. She didn't really know what to make of the kid, she felt bad about his situation from what Daiki had told her, but she had yet to decide if she liked him or not. An idea popped into her head, and she lifted the cat off of her lap.

“He's a lynx, a specific type of cat. His name is Dante, I got him from a,” she paused to think for the right word, “friend of mine who travels very far very regularly.” She placed him on the table in from of Naruto. Daiki quietly watched, he'd seen this before. Kirika often used Dante to decide if someone was trustworthy since he wasn't just an ordinary cat. 

Dante blinked, peering into Naruto's eyes. The room was incredibly silent, even breathing seemed to disrupt the tense quiet. It was like this for a few moments, tension softly rising until it was about to break. 

A loud crash went off right outside the apartment, breaking away everyone's attention and diffusing the tension. Letting out a soft sigh of relief, Naruto stretched up in his seat to peer outside of the window. A merchant's stall had gotten thrown over in the street, food going everywhere. Street kids immediately stole the runaway fruit, taking off through nearby alleyways, the merchant too preoccupied with his stall to notice. Naruto felt a wave of empathy wash over him, he knew how hard it was to get food when you were on the streets.

"Ah that sucks," Daiki muttered. Reaching up to push his hair back, he looked around at fading light and glanced over at Kirika.

"Can I safely assume I'm still a better cook than you?" She pouted but shook her head.

"No, you're still better than me."

"See Naruto, this is why you wanna stick around the better sibling,"

"Oh you're the better sibling? Who's the one paying rent?"

"Actually with my job at the school I'm contributing a solid portion of money towards rent,"

During their sibling bickering, Daiki got up and moved to the kitchen to start on dinner. Hitting a light switch on the wall on his way to the kitchen, the room was suddenly much brighter. Kirika leaned back in her chair, an easy grin on her face. Even Naruto could see they were close despite the pointless arguing, and it caused an ache of loneliness in him. Nobody would really care about him the way Kirika and Daiki obviously care about each other. He studied the wood grain of the table and tried his hardest to ignore the feelings inside of him.

Dante sat on the table quietly, unnoticed, as he stared at Naruto with a calculating expression. Tip of his tail flicking, he blinked before moving to sit in Kirika's lap, her hand immediately reaching up to scratch at that one spot on his jaw. With a quiet purr he settled into her chest.

Daiki glanced back from the kitchen, eyes moving past Kirika and Dante to where Naruto was sitting in his pool of loneliness and anxiety. Emotions flickered over his face, eyes darting up to lock onto Kirika's. A silent conversation passed between them, arguing a bit back and forth before settling on a conclusion. He cleared his throat before speaking, "so Kirika, you gonna sleep on the couch?" Naruto's head shot up, eyes wide. Kirika just shrugged.

"Well you've already given the guest bedroom to your little roommate, but can't we just share a bed?" Her eyes flashed, "it'll be just like old times!" Daiki instantly glared, "I'm not sharing a bed, you kick in your sleep," 

"Uh, if it's too much of a bother, you could use the guest bed and, um, I could sleep on the couch," Naruto said. His hands twitched nervously, mind racing to come up with backup plans for every possible situation and how to avoid anything that might upset Daiki or Kirika. 

Kirika just chuckled, "nah you're fine kid, the couch has a pull-out bed under the cushions. Daiki just likes being an ass to me about things," 

Daiki frowned, "I'm not an ass," Kirika just smirked, "yeah and that's not your food about to burn on the stove." Daiki swore and swirled back around to save the food on the stove.

"She's right though Naruto, you're not a bother. It's nice to have someone reasonable in the house. I think it's just a redhead thing to be so," he hummed, searching for words, "feisty," he concluded. 

"I wouldn't say I'm feisty," Kirika said. Daiki laughed, "that's not what your reputation says about you." Naruto tilted his head in confusion, "what's your reputation?" He said reputation slowly, clearly not knowing the word. Kirika smiled at the innocence in his voice.

"Well let's just say people know me for how I'm more likely to choose a fight over a peaceful option if the situation allows it. Or if my opponent is dumb enough," 

Daiki walked over from the kitchen, setting plates onto the table. Dante gently hopped out of Kirika's lap to snooze on the couch.

"Dinner, not burnt stir fry. You are welcome," he said. Naruto's eyes widened at seeing the food in front of him, and it smelled amazing! 

"Have you ever had stir fry Naruto?" Kirika asked. He just shook his head, shoving food in his mouth as politely as he knew how. 

"Do you even feed him Daiki? The kid is eating like he's starved. Here kid, it's easier to pick up if you use your chopsticks like this." She showed him how the technique she was using to eat easier. Naruto just shook his head, speaking after a long moment. 

"Daiki feeds me, it's way better than when I was eating nothing." Kirika and Daiki froze at his words, sharing a look. 

"What do you mean by eating nothing Naruto?" Daiki asked carefully. There was a long pause as Naruto swallowed another mouthful of stir fry before continuing.

"Well uh, the mean lady at the orphanage didn't want me in there so I wasn't really allowed back in a few months ago. So I just slept outside." Avoiding eye contact, he stuffed his mouth with more food. 

"Don't worry about not eating Naruto, as long as you're staying with me I'll make sure you're taken care of. I would be much happier with you being with me than on the streets alone," Daiki said. Naruto stopped, looking up at Daiki with big blue eyes brimming with tears. Kirika's heartstrings tugged painfully at the shattered hope on the kid's face.

"Do you mean that?" He asked, voice thick with emotion. Daiki nodded, smiling gently. 

"But, but won't I be a burden? That's what everyone back there called me," Daiki was overcome with the urge to hurt the ones that had hurt this precious child in such a way, but shoved it aside to be more comforting. 

"Don't sweat it kid, Daiki would never let a kid struggle on their own. Besides, we know how hard it can be to be on your own. We were just kids when our home got destroyed. So put any thoughts of either of us abandoning you into the trash because there's no chance of that happening." Kirika interjected. She casually shrugged and looked away, "Daiki has taken you in, and you're not half bad. So stay as long as you need."

Naruto's chest felt heavy, and his eyes were filled with tears but it felt different to usual, enjoyable somehow. He didn't understand how he was crying when he felt so happy, anxiety gone completely. Words choked on the lump in his throat, failing to come out his mouth and express just how thankful he felt, but judging from Daiki's face after he ran from his seat for a hug it came across just fine. With a laugh he embraced Naruto close to his chest, affection surging in his chest. Kirika watched the exchange with a smile, enjoying the light atmosphere. 

Another pair of eyes watched the exchange, blinking away a contemplative look before settling back down to sleep. 

Daiki pulled away, patting Naruto on the shoulder, "let's finish our dinner and maybe we can figure out specifics later, yeah?" Naruto nodded eagerly, rushing to his seat to finish his plate. 

"Hey Daiki you got any ice cream in that freezer?" Kirika asked.

"Just vanilla,"

"Oh so just the lame flavors,"

"If you want a different flavor go buy it yourself with all that money you keep talking about,"

As the siblings fell back into the easy bickering Naruto happily finished his dinner. A smile fought its way to stay on his face, euphoria bubbling in his heart. Someone actually cared and wanted him to stay around! Tears almost gathered but he refused to start crying again when he was so happy. He quietly enjoyed the moment as the sky darkened and a blanket of stars glimmered through the abyss of space. A bright, full moon illuminated the streets below, shining on a happy apartment. 

-

In a far away city underneath the same moon a leader was not having such a great time.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was ready to retire when he handed off the hat to Minato. He had felt his age more than ever when he had to take it, and he's feeling it now. 

"How did you just lose a jinchuuriki? Were my orders of having at least one ANBU agent on watch at all times misinterpreted?" His tone was cold, unforgiving. The ANBU in front of him barely even fidgeted, but to those that knew what to look for it was obvious they were uncomfortable, perhaps even guilty. The thick tension held as nobody spoke, accusation clear despite Hiruzen's relaxed posture. Despite the rooms warm light and comforting decor, the atmosphere was hostile and sharp.

"You are aware of the repercussions this could bring on people? Not just on Konoha, but other cities as well? Please enlighten me as to how someone committed such an oversight as to how a small child just disappeared and we didn't know for a full day after he had gone?" His voice grew rough with anger the longer he spoke. The ANBU in the front twitched minutely before talking.

"We believe that he may have accidentally got onto a carriage going out of the village," Hiruzen's face flickered through emotions of disapproval before settling back to the blank nothing. The group of ANBU didn't know which expression was worse. 

"Do you know just how many carriages of any type come and go through Konoha every day? And how they are spread through the entire city? There is no way to know which one he left on," he said. Tension grew in the room, breathing grew difficult, nobody wanted to be the one to break it in fear of punishment. 

It gave in with a sigh from Hiruzen. All the ANBU relaxed slightly, but they knew it wasn't over yet. 

"You're all free to go. Dog, stay an extra second. I want to talk to you on a different matter. I trust that the rest of you will handle this correctly," he said. With a flash of movement they disappeared, leaving one standing there. Hiruzen stood, feeling his joints creak from the pressure, again reminding him of just how much he's lived through. As he walked over, he could see Dog gradually getting more tense. As they stood there, face to face, a moment passed between them before it was broken. Clapping a hand on his shoulder, Hiruzen gave a gentle smile.

"It's not your fault this happened. Don't take it too hard," he said. Dog breathed in sharply, and let out a shuddering breath. He nodded jerkely, and with a quick movement, was gone. 

As he moved to look outside the window, he contemplated what to do next. The needs of the many usually outweigh those of an individual, but when there's many groups and many individuals, it grows tiring to balance it all. He cast a look to the hokage pictures on the wall, and at one in particular. He wonders what he would do in this situation. 

"I'm sorry, Minato,"

-

It was nearing the middle of the night, and while he was so desperate to sleep, he found himself awake and staring at the ceiling. Naruto sighed, pushing off the covers and walked to the door. Inky darkness spilled from the corners of the room, the only light coming from the moon slipping through the curtains. Even the slight creaking of the floorboards sounded like thunder in the silence, and he stepped carefully to avoid waking anyone. 

When he finally got to the kitchen he filled up a cup of water and drained it one go, relieving his parched throat. A glance at the couch confirmed that Kirika was still sleeping. He drank another cup of water before rinsing it and setting it on the drying rack. Silence around him was deafening, and he fought to keep his movements as quiet as possible. 

So when he turned around from the counter to see Dante sitting on the kitchen table and staring intently at him, he let out a choked gasp of surprise, not completely succeeding at minimizing his reaction. While he flailed with his surprise, Dante sat there, cooly flicking his tail. Their eyes locked.

Naruto stepped forward, then stopped unsure of what to do. Instinctively reaching his hand out slowly, he stopped just short of Dante's face, palm up. Dante's eyes pierced into his before darting down to his hand. Stretching his face forward slightly, he sniffed delicately, before tilting his head down and pushing it into Naruto's hand. A soft light came from the physical connection, and he gasped. After a few seconds the light died, Dante leaned back to sit upright again. He locked eyes with Naruto for a split second before it was broken, a paw coming up to his mouth so he could wash himself. Naruto, dazed, stumbled back to bed and promptly fell asleep. 

As the apartment settled back into sleep, another person watching the exchange blinked before closing back into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys are curious about what Dante looks like, he's based off of the Macedonia Lynx. I'm a sucker for cats. I'll try to work on this more often now that I'm a floating by a bit easier in school.

**Author's Note:**

> Is it just me or is there so much you can do with this universe and in the anime everything is looked over. I don't know if this worked too well but I'll start working on chapter 2 and see where it goes from there?


End file.
